By SHAWN YORKS• Leader & TimesArea Oklahoma Panhandle basketball teams are hitting the road Thursday for the first round of the Class A and Class B regionals as they continue to strive for their ultimate goal — the state tournament next month in Oklahoma City.In Class B, the district champion Forgan boys and girls open play at the regional sub-site in Arnett. The top-ranked Bulldogs (21-2) battle No. 15 Arnett (15-10) at 8 p.m.Arnett won their district championship last Saturday, 87-34 at Leedey, while the Bulldogs cruised 74-22 over Hardesty at Yarbrough.The No. 12 Lady Bulldogs (15-8) visit Arnett to take on No. 4 Leedey (19-5), Thursday at 6:30 p.m.Leedey edged unranked Shattuck 43-42 in their district championship contest last Saturday.Thursday’s winners will play for the regional championship on Saturday at Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell. Thursday’s losers will play an elimination game Friday at OPSU.The unranked district champion Tyrone boys (17-3) play unranked Goodwell (13-8) at 8 p.m. Thursday at OPSU. The teams have met three times already this season, with Tyrone winning by an average of 23 points.The winner will play the Forgan-Arnett winner for the regional title Saturday at OPSU, while the loser will play the Hardesty-Leedey winner on Friday night.The Tyrone Lady Bobcats (10-11) will play a loser’s bracket elimination game against Goodwell at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at OPSU. Tyrone is 2-1 against the Lady Eagles, with each game being decided by four points or less. The winner plays the Forgan-Leedey Loser on Friday while the loser goes home.In Class A, the Hooker and Beaver boys are set to begin play in the regional first round Thursday at Laverne.No. 20 Hooker (16-6) takes on No. 10 Vici (23-3) Thursday at 8 p.m. Win or lose, the teams will advance to the next round Friday and Saturday at Woodward. The winner will play the Okarche-Drummond winner at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Boomer Fieldhouse, and the loser will play the Covington-Douglas vs. Waukomis winner at 8 p.m. Friday.Unranked Beaver (16-9) opens regional play Thursday at 3:30 in Laverne against unranked Texhoma (11-11). The teams met Jan. 28 in the Duster Dome, a 54-52 Beaver victory. The winner advances to play the Okarche-Drummond loser on Friday at 3 in Woodward’s Boomer Fieldhouse, and the loser goes home.The No. 10 Lady Dusters (21-2) open regional tournament play Thursday at 6:30 in Laverne against unranked Texhoma (12-9). Beaver won their lone meeting 52-38 on Jan. 28 in the Duster Dome.The winner advances to play the Okarche-Waukomis winner for the regional title Saturday at 6:30 in Woodward. The loser will play the Vici-Laverne winner at 1:30 Friday afternoon in Woodward.The Class A area tournament begins Feb. 24 at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center in Enid.The Class B area tournament begins Feb. 24 in Laverne, and continues Feb. 25-26 in Woodward.

Facebook

No Iframes

About The High Plains Daily Leader

The High Plains Daily Leader and Southwest Daily Times are published Sunday through Friday and reaches homes throughout the Liberal, Kansas retail trade zone. The Leader & Times is the official newspaper of Seward County, USD No. 480, USD No. 483 and the cities of Liberal and Kismet. The Leader & Times is a member of the Liberal Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Press Association, the National Newspaper Association and the Associated Press.

Subscribe

Get the Daily Leader delivered to your home for $101.45 per year in Liberal, or $140 outside Liberal. Call 620-626-0840 for a subscription today. You can receive the print edition or an electronic edition! To subscribe today, email circulation@hpleader.com.